In the related art, in chargers and the like for charging batteries mounted on electronic equipment, an assembly having a movable contact maker impelled by a coil spring has been proposed as a terminal assembly used in a connector for contacting and electrically connecting the battery electrodes (for example, see Patent Document 1).
FIG. 7 is an exploded view of a known connector terminal assembly.
In FIG. 7, 851 is a movable contact maker that contacts a mating terminal that is not illustrated on the drawing, and 861 is a coil spring that impels the movable contact maker 851 in the upward direction, so that the movable contact maker 851 is pressed against the mating terminal. Also, 871 is a contact maker retention part that retains the movable contact maker 851, that is mounted on the surface of a circuit board that is not illustrated on the drawing, and that is electrically connected to a conductive trace.
The contact maker retention part 871 is a member produced by processing such as punching, bending, or the like, an electrically conductive metal sheet, and includes an internal wall part 872 having an approximately rectangular tubular shape, and a pair of external wall parts 877 provided on the left and right sides of the internal wall part 872. Note that an elastic contact member 876 is disposed between the internal wall part 872 and the external wall parts 877, and an engaging projection 874 is formed on the two external surfaces of the internal wall part 872 that are not opposite to the external wall parts 877.
The movable contact maker 851 is a member having an approximately rectangular tubular shape produced by processing such as punching and bending a conductive metal sheet, and includes a contact sheet part 854 having a rectangular flat shape, and four side sheet parts 852 connected to the four sides of the contact sheet part 854. Note that a contact portion 854a that protrudes upwards is formed in the center of the contact sheet part 854, and apertures 853 for sliding are formed in one set of the side sheet parts 852.
Then, with the coil spring 861 interposed between the contact maker retention parts 871, the movable contact maker 851 is installed in the contact maker retention part 871 so as to cover the internal wall part 872. With the movable contact maker 851 installed on the contact maker retention part 871, the two side sheet parts 852 on which the apertures 853 for sliding are not formed are inserted between the internal wall part 872 and the external wall parts 877 and contact the elastic contact member 876, and the engaging projections 874 are inserted into and engage with the apertures 853 for sliding.
In this way, the apertures 853 for sliding are engaged with the engaging projections 874, so even though the movable contact maker 851 is impelled upwards by the coil spring 861, it is not removed from the contact maker retention part 871. Also, the side sheet parts 852 contact the elastic contact member 876, so even though the movable contact maker 851 is displaced upwards and downwards, the state of conductivity with the contact maker retention part 871 can be reliably maintained.
Patent Document 1: JP 2013-045665